News 13 is on your side with what's sanitary, what's suspicious, and what all nail techs and hairdressers should be doing to keep you safe at the salon.

Citations and Inspections

“They say that germs get stuck in the jets and stuff, so I always get worried about going into them.”  As Sharee Ziller prepares to get her manicure and pedicure, she is skeptical of salon sanitation and rightfully so. Since last July, nine salons in Bay, Jackson, and Walton counties have been cited for operating with expired licenses and employing unlicensed workers, according to public records we obtained from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.  

“Sanitation and sterilization are two things that are a must,” says Tommy Vaughen.  He’s been in the business for the past 40 years and works as a barber on Panama City Beach.  He was recently appointed to the State Board of Barbers and says the importance of maintaining accurate business licenses is to uphold the trade’s integrity.  “Because you'd have people setting up doing business that are not sanitary.”

Sanitation and properly sterilizing instruments are two mandatory requirements on Florida's Cosmetology Salon and Barber Shop inspection Forms.

Vaughen recalls, “years ago in Georgia, every three months an inspector would come by.”  That’s not the case in Florida.  Salons are required to be inspected once every two years, so bad beauty business could exist for months before being discovered.

Last year one citation News 13 found was issued to a Panama City Beach nail salon for employing a cosmetologist with an expired license for a year.  The salon had to pay a $500 fine.  According to online records from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, that person's license is now up to date.
Out of the other eight citations, only one license remains delinquent.   We called the Panama City nail salon last employing that person and were told that person hasn't worked there in more than a year.

There are thousands of barber shops, hair and nail salons in Florida.  Inspectors are responsible for inspecting all those, plus the states veterinarian offices.  There are only 17 state inspectors doing the more than 20,000 inspections each year.

The Director of the Division of Regulation, John Washington, says there aren’t plans to add more inspectors.  He emailed us the following explanation:
“The addition of staff is a decision made by the Florida Legislature, not the professional board.   No additions to staff were requested in the last budget cycle in part because our approach to inspections is now more efficient.  In September 2007, the Cosmetology Board voted to change to the inspection frequency from annual to biennial with follow-up inspections for salons with violations.  This effectively allowed us to focus on those salons that have been found to be out of compliance.  This change has reduced the need for additional staff.”

However, with nearly 29,000 inspections anticipated by the end of the year, that breaks down to more than 1,700 inspections per inspector; totaling about seven inspections per day.

In July, the regulation department will be turning to you for help.  They’re launching an "Ugly Business" campaign to crackdown on salons operating without a proper license. 

Now the other part of our story is how difficult it's been trying to get salon inspections from the state.  Unlike restaurant inspection reports, salon inspections are not posted online.  When we asked why, a department spokesperson said they do not have the ability due to lack of technology, staff, and funding

Salon Sanitation and Doing It Right

With an abundance of beauty salon options in the Yellow Pages, how do you know which panhandle salons are good at making you pretty, while being professional?

The Indulgence Salon on Panama City Beach had no violations during their most recent inspection in September of 2007 so we're featuring them as a business that's doing it right.

Nail technician and Cosmetologist Denise McGibony explains what to look for when choosing a nail or hair salon.  Before you sit down in the pedicure chair, be sure to ask to look at the pedicure log.  “We have a log that we fill out everyday.”  
The log is proof of the nail bath's cleaning record.

McGibony says properly cleaning the footbath is important to prevent bacteria and germs.  Salons should be using an EPA approved disinfectant which foams and protects against HIV, HPV, and tuberculosis.

After the footbath is thoroughly disinfected, it's safe for a client to put their toes in.

Tools that are used to push nail cuticles back, file nails, comb, and brush hair should also be disinfected in an EPA approved solution like Barbicide.  It’s a blue liquid that actually looks a lot like window cleaner.  Some salons could switch the two, because it looks like a proper disinfectant and is cheaper.  However, it is not EPA approved.  Barbicide is an EPA approved disinfectant and you'll notice it by its darker blue color.

McGibony says “they have to stay completely immersed.  Barbicide is a hospital grade disinfectant, so they stay in that.  We also have a UV sanitizer that is a germicidal sanitizer which you can put wood, brushes, combs, and metal inside.”

A customer asks McGibony ‘now does your scraper have a blade in it?’  She replies, “No.”  It shouldn't because razor blades are illegal in Florida salons.  Only barbers are licensed to use razors. 

Another outlawed beauty product is methyl methacrylate.  Nail technician, Nikki Crum explains it “is a retention for acrylic nails and it’s very harmful for people.  It causes bodily damage and death.”

A license should always be displayed with a current photo for a barber, a nail tech, or a hairdresser.  The salon's business license and most recent inspection should be posted near the front.  Smoking and pets are also two things not allowed inside Florida salons.

Unfortunately not all salons are doing it right, so if you've had a bad salon visit, we want to hear about it.  Email me directly at dlambert@wmbb.com.